News Corp Buys out Hearst's Stake in Smartmoney

News Corp. is buying out Hearst's 50 percent stake in SmartMoney, giving it complete ownership of the magazine.

The company plans to integrate the magazine with The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp. unit Dow Jones & Co. Bob Christie, a Journal spokesman, says there will be about a dozen layoffs from the business operations of the magazine.

In an e-mail message Tuesday, he said, "Dow Jones will invest in the SmartMoney franchise just as the company has invested in the Journal franchise worldwide."

The sale price has not been released.

SmartMoney began in 1991 as a partnership between Dow Jones and Hearst Corp., which publishes 14 other titles in the U.S. including Cosmopolitan and Esquire.